Columbus earns first playoff victory

Sunday

Apr 20, 2014 at 12:01 AMApr 20, 2014 at 2:36 AM

PITTSBURGH — Matt Calvert banged home a rebound 1:10 into the second overtime and the Columbus Blue Jackets earned the first playoff victory in franchise history with a 4-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night.

The Associated Press

PITTSBURGH — Matt Calvert banged home a rebound 1:10 into the second overtime and the Columbus Blue Jackets earned the first playoff victory in franchise history with a 4-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night.

Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury stuffed the initial shot by Cam Atkinson but Calvert stood all alone at the left post and wristed a shot into the open net to even the Eastern Conference quarterfinals at one game each.

Jack Johnson tied the game with 6:01 left in regulation for the Blue Jackets. Ryan Johansen also scored the first playoff goal of his career for Columbus. Sergei Bobrovsky overcame a shaky start to finish with 39 saves.

Brian Gibbons scored twice and Matt Niskanen added his second goal of the playoffs but Pittsburgh was outplayed for much of the final three-plus periods. Fleury made 41 stops but was helpless on the game-winner.

Blues 4, Blackhawks 3, OT

At St. Louis, defenseman Barret Jackman scored on a drive through traffic, giving the Blues their second straight 4-3 overtime victory over the Blackhawks for a 2-0 series lead against the defending Stanley Cup champions.

St. Louis rallied after Chicago defenseman Brent Seabrook received a five-minute major and game misconduct penalty for a vicious elbow to the head on Blues captain David Backes, who had to be helped off the ice, went straight to the locker room and did not return for the extra period.

Vladimir Tarasenko forced overtime with his second goal of the series, beating Corey Crawford with a wrist shot that banged off the right post and in with 6.4 seconds to go. Kevin Shattenkirk had a goal and two assists for the Blues.

Avalanche 4, Wild 2

At Denver, Gabriel Landeskog scored twice and Semyon Varlamov stopped 30 shots, lifting the Avalanche to a 2-0 series lead.

The Wild were unable to contain the quickness of teenager Nathan MacKinnon, who had a goal and three assists. Stastny, the star of Game 1, also had a goal and three assists. His empty-netter sealed the win after Marco Scandella made it a one-goal game with 1:19 remaining.